Aspinall escapes against a great effort from Ilagan, winning 6-4.
The World Series of Darts kicks off in 2026 with an exciting eight-match slate on Day 1 of the Bahrain Darts Masters.
Six 2026 Premier League players will be in action, including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting.
On the qualifiers side, legends like Paul Lim and 2026 Ally Pally fan favorite Motomu Sakai will take the stage.
2026 Bahrain Darts Masters Day 1 schedule & results
Thursday night’s session consists of the first round.
MORE: 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained
First round (first to 6 legs)
| Match | Date | Time (local) | Score |
| Gerwyn Price vs. Motomu Sakai | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 7:15 p.m. | 6-4 |
| Gian van Veen (3) vs. Man Lok Leung | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 7:45 p.m. | 6-2 |
| Danny Noppert vs. Basem Mahmood | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 8:15 p.m. | 6-1 |
| Nathan Aspinall vs. Lourence Ilagan | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 8:45 p.m. | 6-4 |
| Luke Humphries vs. Abdulla Saeed | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 9:15 p.m. | |
| Luke Littler vs. Paul Lim | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 9:45 p.m. | |
| Michael van Gerwen vs. Alexis Toylo | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 10:15 p.m. | |
| Stephen Bunting vs. Ryusei Azemoto | Thurs., Jan. 15 | 10:45 p.m. |
MORE: 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters preview and predictions: PDC representatives on upset watch?
Bracket
Here is the bracket for the second round.
| Littler/Lim vs. Price |
| van Gerwen/Toylo vs. Bunting/Azemoto |
| Humphries/Saeed vs. Aspinall |
| van Veen vs. Noppert |
